Here's the dilema - you're planning the big day and everything is going to be perfect - except for one thing - someone in the bridal party just cannot get their heads around having even a single glass of classy Champagne. And those Insta posts of the toasts are just not going to look the same if there's someone in the background clutching a can/bottle/beer mug rather than the tasteful flutes you've got on order.
What do you do?
You could of course un-invite the uncooperative party - but what if its the Groom, or the father of the Bride or maybe the Bride herself?
Fortunately Wilson has a solution for you - what you need is a beer you can pour into your lovely flutes or saucers. Something with the right light colour, the tiny bubbles and not too much frothy head.
In this special edition blog Wilson looks at a few beers which might do the job - all sourced at the local Raglan Four Square - thanks for having such a great selection!!
Sapporo Original Draft beer, 650ml can, Japan
Sapporo bills itself as light - though I'd say not light enough in a champagne glass! It is crisp and it is refreshing with some hops and some mineral freshness. And it comes in a rather attractive shiny silver can. You should be able to pick this up for about $7 -so its certainly good value. But on the whole, call me a snob, I prefer my beers like my wines - a little more handcrafted and a lot less mass produced. In terms of the champers test - the colour was a little too yellow though the bubbles were pretty and this is a beer with minimal froth - so it did look nice in the glass.
panhead Suercharger ApA, 500ml bottle, New Zealand
They claim to be NZs favourite craft beer and if that's true, I can see why. Lots of upfront hops but with the complexity of stone fruit and some piney freshness. So this is a winner when it comes to flavour, but how does it do on the glass test? Unfortunately this is a lovely golden caramel colour - perfect for a beer - but its not going to work in those all-important Insta-worthy shots. Its got a tyically frothy head and the bubbles are just that - no mistaking them for the delicate bead of a decent sparkling. At between $7 and $8 a bottle its still in the reasonable price range but wouldn't be my pick.
Vailima Export Lager, 750ml bottle, Samoa
How could I resist the great beer of Samoa? Wedding on a beach - what better way to bring that tropical vibe? Its been years since I last drank Vailima - and I was pleasantly surprised. At around $7 for a big bottle, its at the budget end of this tasting - but its a fresh lager with lots of malty complexity and no nasty after taste. At 6.7% its also got a bit of a kick! As far as the look in the glass - this probably isn't going to fly - its a nice golden brown which is a great colour for beer but not for the fake champers look we're going for. That said, Vailima is high on my list of choices - it tastes good, its well-priced and there's a retro confidence in that labelling which makes me want to throw caution and highly Instagrammable pictures out the window and just enjoy a good drop.
Workshop Brewing Company ChopHop ApA, 500ml bottle, New Zealand
This is my local Raglan brew - and its a nice hoppy ApA with plenty of good deep flavour and a refeshing final taste. At around $8 its in the upper end of our tasting price spectrum but its certainly a quality drink and delivers on the promised hoppiness. In the glass though it suffers the same fate as many of our other choices - its golden rather than caramel and the bubbles are fine but no one is going to fooled that this is a glass of quality methode! That said, I love supporting the great things happening locally and this is one of them.
Garage project Hops on pointe Champagne pilsner, 330ml can, New Zealand
And the winner is...! This is a very nice pilsner. Its very hoppy, light, crisp, refreshing. Basically all the descriptors you want in a very tasty summer drop. It was made for the NZ Ballet - hence the cute name and the very classy can. Because its using a champagne yeast the bubbles are fine and there's a lot of them. Not just does this taste great, it does look like a big, straw-coloured methode in the glass. It was a satisfying drink and at about $5 for a can around the same price point as our other contestants. Everything about this one will work for you if beer in a champagne glass is where you need to go. It will go down just as well in a beer glass, mug or straight from the very tasteful can.
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